Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Salem walked away with it. They took down the Charlottesville Black Knights 63-47 on Friday. The win was familiar territory for the Spartans, who have now won six contests in a row.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Salem to victory, but perhaps none more so than Bailey Rider, who shot 70% from the field to rack up 17 points in addition to five boards and three steals. Rider is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed two or more in each of the last eight games she's played. Another player making a difference was Emme Custer, who almost dropped a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Salem was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Charlottesville only four assists.
Charlottesville lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Elaina Pierce, who posted 12 points along with seven boards and three steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Jaz Bryant, who went 5-for-8 en route to 11 points and four steals.
Spartans
| 02/28/25 vs Charlottesville | 63-47 |
| 02/26/25 vs Glass | 71-47 |
| 02/25/25 vs Jefferson Forest | 67-22 |
| 02/18/25 vs Patrick Henry | 52-48 |
| 02/17/25 vs Pulaski County | 69-36 |
| + 14 more games |
Salem's victory was their 19th straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 25-2. Those victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 29.6 points on average over those games. As for Charlottesville, they moved to 23-3 with that loss, which also ended their 14-game winning streak.
Salem didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 59-49 win against Woodgrove on the 4th. As for Charlottesville, they have also already played their next game, a 72-37 defeat against Heritage on the 4th.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
